Pear gorgonzola salad with maple candied pecans

This pear gorgonzola salad is so easy to make and has a great mix of flavors. Plus don't skip the maple candied pecans that add a delicious crunch and sweetness. Great as a side, a light appetizer, or enjoy a bigger serving for lunch.

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Pears are something that we all enjoy - both of my sons love them as snacks, as do I. While we can get them all year round, they do somehow seem to taste that bit better when in season more locally. So, we definitely make the most of them then.

As well as snacking, we enjoy everything from my delicious pear cake to pear jam, as well as savory choices like this salad. It's quick and easy to make, particularly if you make the pecans ahead, and makes a great side or lunch.

Pear and gorgonzola are a common pairing, for good reason, and so really don't need a whole lot more to make it work. But the addition of candied pecans to this salad is the perfect way to really make it special. So I really recommend you don't skip them.

Much as they feel that bit indulgent, these are actually relatively healthy, as candied things go. They are made with maple syrup rather than sugar, and only a small amount, too.

Making and storing maple candied pecans

The candied pecans are really quick to make - all you do is:

• Dry-toast the pecans in a skillet until gently nutty smelling.
• Drizzle the maple syrup over them and quickly toss so they are coated.
• Tip them on some parchment paper and let them cool.

Make sure you use a plastic spatula to stir as the syrup does get hot. For the same reason, I recommend you don't handle the pecans directly until they are cool. Using a plastic spatula means once any excess syrup has cooled, it just slides off really easily (and tastes delicious!)

You can keep the nuts in a sealed box at room temperature for a few weeks and use them on a whole range of things, such as with other salads or on top of my banana oatmeal.

They're addictively good, so you might want to make extra! In all honesty, you can get away with a little less maple syrup than listed here but this ensures they are coated.

Putting together the pear gorgonzola salad

The rest is as simple as chopping the pear, whisking the oil, vinegar and maple syrup for the dressing and layering it all up.

The dressing here is the same maple vinaigrette that I use in my beet apple salad and is both really easy and the perfect pairing for autumnal fruit. It's has a nice sweet-tart balance, though if you prefer it sweeter, give it a taste and you can always add a little extra maple syrup.

If you want to bulk it out to be more of a meal, some chicken would work well to bulk it out a little more. You could also add some roasted beets (as I do sometimes) or other roasted roots like squash or parsnips.

This pear gorgonzola salad is so easy to make and has a delicious sweet-savory balance. It makes a great side salad to a broad range of dishes, or make a big old bowl for lunch. So quick, so tasty, it makes a fantastic but easy change from your average salad.

Try these other autumnal salads:

• Vegan lentil salad with roasted Brussels sprouts
• Butternut squash wild rice salad
• Apple celeriac salad
• Roasted kabocha squash salad with feta
• Plus get more fall recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This post was first shared in September 2016 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and video.

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